Reuters
Authorities in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) are severely restricting the Islamic tradition of circumcision, either by delinking its religious significance or banning it outright, according to officials.
A member of the Uyghur diaspora living in Europe recently informed RFA’s Uyghur Service that Memet Ibrahim—a resident of his hometown Alaqagha, in Aksu (in Chinese, Akesu) prefecture’s Kuchar (Kuche) county—was placed in an internment camp during the week of Jan. 12 because he had his six-year-old son circumcised.
Circumcisions are a major life-cycle event for Muslim boys, usually between the ages of six and eight, that include a ceremony and reception similar to that of a wedding, with family, friends and neighbors invited to celebrate the event.